Police say a Moreno Valley school board member was arrested last month because he “pushed past” a senior citizen woman, entered her home without permission and caused $1,500 damage to a car parked out front.

Those were some of the circumstances surrounding Evan Daniel Morgan’s arrest one month ago on suspicion of burglary and vandalism, Corona police Sgt. Chad Fountain said Friday, July 20. Morgan, 35, denies the allegations and says he didn’t touch the woman or damage a car.

No charges have been filed and prosecutors are still reviewing the case, said John Hall, a spokesman for the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.

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Morgan said he plans to return to the board after prosecutors complete their review. His attorney, Danuta Tuszynska of Riverside, has said she “would be astounded if charges were actually filed.”

Morgan said by phone Friday that he did not place hands on the woman and was invited into the Corona home. He denied damaging a car. Morgan said he went to the house to retrieve money he says was stolen by the woman’s grandson, who Morgan said lived there.

Corona police released additional details this week about Moreno Valley school board member Evan Morgan’s arrest in Corona on June 20. The case is being reviewed by the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office. (File photo)

Tuszynska wrote in an earlier email that the man “stole money from my client’s wife.”

On Tuesday, July 17, Corona police released a two-page summary of Morgan’s arrest in response to a public records request from The Press-Enterprise and Southern California News Group.

That report states that Morgan was arrested at 6 a.m. June 20 after knocking on the front door of a residence in the 700 block of W. Ninth Street in Corona. He was released a short time later on $35,000 bail.

According to that report, a senior woman answered the door as Morgan asked to talk to a man named Ruben, and she told Morgan no such person was there.

The “suspect pushes the elderly woman to the side and (enters) the home searching for Ruben,” the report stated.

Tuszynska, the attorney, identified the man who allegedly stole money from Morgan’s wife as Fernando Ruben Quiroz. Attempts to reach Quiroz for comment on Friday were unsuccessful.

After searching the home, the report said, Morgan left the residence and damaged a car he believed belonged to the man for whom he was looking. Actually, the report stated, it was owned by a neighbor. Fountain said a separate department report indicated Morgan was accused of causing $1,500 damage to the fender and hood of the 2006 sedan.

Fountain said Morgan “pushed past” the woman but didn’t harm her. He said nothing was reported taken from the home.

Morgan disputed the agency’s characterization of the incident.

“I never pushed past her and I never broke into the house,” Morgan said. “She let me in. When the police got there, their story changed.”

Morgan also addressed comments circulating on social media.

“The one thing that really bothers me is what people are putting online, that, ‘Oh my God, he pushed an old lady,’” he said. “I never even touched her.”

As for the car, Morgan said he pulled the handle of the passenger-side door to see if the car was unlocked, intending to look inside “to see if he stashed the cash somewhere.” The door did not open, Morgan said.

Morgan seemed to have second thoughts about how he went about trying to retrieve what he says is stolen money.

“It’s a story of me being in the wrong place at the wrong time and doing the wrong thing. I should have just let the $500 go and not try to pursue it. Now it’s cost me a lot more,” he said, in terms of bail, lawyer fees and public embarrassment.

Dave is a general assignment reporter based in Riverside, writing about a wide variety of topics ranging from drones and El Nino to trains and wildfires. He has worked for five newspapers in four states: Wyoming, Colorado, Arizona and California. He earned a bachelor's degree in journalism from Colorado State University in 1981. Loves hiking, tennis, baseball, the beach, the Lakers and golden retrievers. He is from the Denver area.